I don't have time to blog about tonight's impressive win over Michigan State but want to quickly point out:
- Larry Drew II has arrived. He was excellent tonight, hitting a variety of shots and playing with loads of confidence.
- Ditto Ed Davis, who benefitted mightily from Drew's excellent game. Whatever shell he was in early in the season is empty now as Ed and his talent have finally emerged. He was a force on offense, where like Drew he looked very confident, and a terror on the boards.
- Dexter Strickland was electric in the first half. Wow.
- How about the big plays by Will Graves in the last 5 minutes? A nice take to help quell Michigan State's run, two big back-taps off missed free throws that led directly to 4 points, and a nice defensive rebound, too. He could have sulked during his long stretches on the bench but didn't - and made four big plays to help his team win. Way to keep your head up, Will.
- Deon Thompson was great for most of the game, again looking confident with his stroke. Speaking of stroke, I and Roy almost had two - when Deon took and badly missed a three, and dropped a pass, late to keep the Spartans' hopes alive.
- In addition to Strickland, John Henson had his best game as a Heel and the Wear twins produced, with Travis playing especially good defense in the second half when the Heels went with a Drew-Ginyard-Wear-Thompson-Davis lineup for an extended period.
A pretty good win over a serious and talented opponent, one who must be tired of playing the Heels.
